Hello, I´m trying to start up a mobile coffee business(coffeebike) and I´m not sure which espresso machine would serve me best. I´ve been looking at the la pavoni pub 1EM and the Izzo Alex Duetto PID (Dual Boiler) whitch I like becuase of the pourover function and the fact that they only run on 110-120 volt, whitch is good because I will run it off of gas. The problem is that I can´t seem to find them on any european websites. This is important since I live in Copenhagen Denmark, hoping someone could tell me about any machines that are similar or even better for my purpose so I have some more options. BR Marlon Pate

Ps. I will probably be serving about 100 cups a day and I´m able to stock up in between as well.

As a recent initiate to making real espresso at home (upgrade from Krups steam powered and whirly blade), the one thing that I've found that's slightly misleading (or lacking, at any rate) is some of the grinder advice.

The rule of thumb is "spend as much on your grinder as you do on the espresso machine", and I understand why... but it's not necessarily true. It's taken me a few months, but I have found that you can indeed get a good espresso grinder for less than $100, with certain caveats.

I'm talking, of course, about hand grinders.

I'd really love for the grinder section to include this as a viable option/opinion for folks such as myself who have limited budgets but still want long-lasting, quality workmanship. While I can't compare the coffee from my Silvia/hand grinder to a Silvia/Baratza or similar electric grinder (because I don' t have access to them), I very seriously doubt that spending 4x the lucre on the grinder will result in a 4x improvement in my cup.

On the other hand, my $80 hand grinder purchased from OrphanEspresso.com is clearly far superior for the Silvia than the Breville BarAroma (Ikon, BCG450) for a similar price.

It's got downsides, sure... you've got to work for your coffee and you're not exactly going to be playing barista for your 22 closest friends at your next garden party.

I'll cut my comments off at this point, in order to try to avoid repeating myself... but man, I wish I'd have known about the usefulness of hand-grinders earlier.

-Scot

PS: And while it's not exactly a match for the stainless steel of Ms Silvia, the wooden box looks pretty good on the counter alongside her!

This guide is great. It's one of the most extensive I've found. Thanks for the help and advice. I especially thought it was wise in the accessories section about the knock boxes being more important than the tamper. If you do not have one of those, grinds get everywhere very easily. And, it is not fun to clean up.

I know you have received at least a thousand questions on which espresso machine to buy! Here's a slightly different one -

I am opening a small gelato/coffee/pastry shop and I need education about which fully-automatic espresso machine to invest in. I will have employees and I've discovered the hard way that if it has more than one or two buttons to push, they will either mess up the product or break the machine. I would love to score a used machine from Starbucks - seems like they have the 'push one button and you get a completed cappuccino' down pat - but, despite many store closures, I can't locate any.

I need your help and advice!

Could you give me a list of equipment for a 'fantasy' coffee shop set-up? I'll be doing espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolates, coffees & teas so I'll need to get several pieces of equipment.

On my machine, the manometer reads close to 0 bar when cold with the fill cap open, which means it should be reading atmospheric pressure. If I went to Death Valley (or diving in a submarine, or in a hyperbaric chamber), I'd expect a higher reading on the gauge. If I went to Denver, I'd expect a lower reading. If I put the machine in a vacuum chamber, I'd expect the needle to peg on the low-range stop as it tried to display -1 bar.

(No, I have not figured out which style of pressure gauge is used, nor if it's referenced to a fixed sample or local ambient.)

The gauge reads about 1.2 bar when pressurized, which I believe is (about) 2.2 bar absolute, or just over twice atmospheric pressure.

There is plenty of pressure to spray a lot of hot water all over the place rather quickly. Yes, it's lower than the 5 to 10 bar that is developed by the spring.

It is a great guide... but I'm a geek, and I get hung up on minutiae. :I

I am opening a small gelato/coffee/pastry shop and I need education about which fully-automatic espresso machine to invest in. I will have employees and I've discovered the hard way that if it has more than one or two buttons to push, they will either mess up the product or break the machine.

You're likely not going to get a great answer to this question here as this is more geared for the home and there is a strong bias against superauto machines. I think you want a superauto that includes the grinder in it.

Recommendation #1 -call and discuss with Chris coffee who is a commercial supplier/ distributor and we all love for service.

Recommendation #2 - find a local distributor. In a cafe setting especially with a super auto that could break down with high volume use you'll need good support service.

I have owned three different super auto machines and ultimately became disappointed with each one as my tase for espresso developed.

Hard to go wrong with any La Marzocco or La Spaziale machines and Mazzer grinders. These are the workhorses in REAL espresso cafes in my experience. The only places you see other brands or more automatic machines are where the people making the espresso have no idea what they are doing and need it to be automatic. In my book, automatic means terrible coffee. I have had shots pulled from tons of different machines and I've never had a shot from an automatic machine taste as good as from a REAL Marz or La Spaz.

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